MARKED ABSENT

There was an odd sense that something was missing
amid the jubilant ceremony last week at the Queen
Theater in Wilmington for the signing of the civil union bill into
law.

Not that there could have been a checklist for this
bill signing, the likes of which Delaware has never seen
before, but still.

Cool location? Check. An adventurous makeover just brought
this old faded theater on Market Street back into
fashion. If it was a person, it would be Betty White.

Crowd ready to party? Check. The place was humming,
600 people thronging inside. Someone happy
shouted the Jewish expression of celebration, "Mozel tov!"

The governor? Check. Remembering to bring a pen?
Check. Jack Markell, the first-term Democrat, was called
the man of the hour. He even brought along his wife
Carla, the first lady. He set off wild cheering as he
held up the just-signed law as high as he could.

It would have been almost unthinkable not to hear
from Chris Coons, the new Democratic senator, even
though he could not be there. He has already become such
a friend to gay rights that he was invited to keynote a
gala held in March in Philadelphia by the Human Rights
Campaign.

Coons sent a congratulatory video. So did John
Carney, the new Democratic congressman. That was it from
the congressional delegation. Nothing to screen from Tom
Carper, not only the Democratic senior senator but the
state's senior officeholder.

For just a moment, the celebration seemed out of
kilter. What, no Carper? It led to a little muttering
about "conspicuous in his absence." People's expressions
here and there conveyed the same.

It was not that Carper was overlooked by Equality Delaware, the organization that
was the driving force behind the civil union legislation
and hosted the bill signing.

"We were very disappointed that Senator Carper told
us he was unable to supply a video," said Lisa Goodman,
the Equality Delaware president.

Carper's office chalked it up to a schedule too full
to fit in time for videotaping.

Nor was Carper entirely missing in action. He signed
on to be a member of Equality Delaware's community
advisory council, and Emily Spain, the senator's press
secretary, noted he sent Josh Magarik, a staff member,
to the bill signing. Magarik went unnoticed, however.

Furthermore, had Carper been the governor, as he was
from 1993 to 2001, he said Friday by e-mail he would
have signed the bill. He also sent along his belated
congratulations:

"I am proud to support Delaware's new civil union
bill. I supported the bill as it made its way through
the legislative process and served on the advisory board
for Equality Delaware, the organization that championed
this effort. While I wasn't able to attend the signing
ceremony personally, I was certainly there in spirit."

Better late than never, but even if there was no time
to send a video, what about a card?